INSIGHTS&PUBLICATIONS

Never miss an important update regarding your industry or technology service with Ken’s in-depth reports and briefs on Logistics, Supply Chain, IoT, and Transportation. Ken’s reports are designed to take industry trends and combine them with current shifts in order to project future industry and technology changes.

By remaining ahead of the curve, you can ensure that your compass is always pointed in the right direction with regard to major impacts to your industry or technology company.

UPCOMINGEVENTS

MARCH 2018

30th Annual Roth Conference

March 11-13, 2018 | Attendee

Sunday March 11th-Tuesday March 13th, 2018

30th Annual ROTH Conference | 9am-5pm daily

The 30th Annual ROTH Conference is scheduled for March 11-13, 2018 at The Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Orange County, CA. Following the success of the previous year’s events, the ROTH Conference, with close to 550 participating companies and over 4,700 attendees, will feature presentations from public and private companies in a variety of sectors including:

Modex 2018 at the Georgia World Conference Center

Monday April 9th-Wednesday April 11th

As the speed of manufacturing and supply chain operations continues to accelerate, the future of our industry depends on today’s forward-thinking decisions. From illuminating education to next-generation technology and equipment in action, MODEX lets you see what’s coming — and take advantage of it to FUTUREPROOF your supply chain for years to come.

Powered by MHI, MODEX 2018 will allow you to make new contacts, discover cutting-edge solutions, and learn the latest trends that are sure to give you a leg up on the competition. Here, you’ll encounter the best our industry has to offer.

Building your professional industry-specific network is essential to gaining presentation opportunities, industry connections, and meeting the right people who can improve your sales cycle. #entrepreneur #network #business #product #project #sales #growth

Is Hiring Consultants Over-Hyped? Here's when to hire and what to look for in the right consultant for your company. https://t.co/80RMVFIFIW #consulting #consultant #business #company #growth #advice #ROI #tech #technology #industry #entrepreneur #management #project

It’s no secret that the tech sector has seen significant growth in the last few years. With that expansion, there has been an influx of opportunities for short-term contract workers to meet the demands of the tech sector. This changing workforce has developed into what’s known as the Gig Economy, where a growing number of contract workers or consultants offer their services for the duration of short “gigs” with a given company. In fact, according to Intuit the Gig Economy comprises 34% of the entire U.S. workforce and is expected to grow to 43% by the year 2020. Alongside the rapid adoption of IoT devices, this shifting employment style has created demand for tech and industry consultants. However, the increasing number of professionals available to meet these needs can cause the word “consultant” to lose some of its specificity. But does this mean that hiring a consultant is over-hyped? The answer is no; hiring a consultant is definitely not over-hyped. In fact, it can be a strategic maneuver for your company regardless of industry. Consultants bring decades of beneficial experience, relationships, connections, resources, and skills that you can effectively leverage to leapfrog ahead of your competition. The key to establishing a successful relationship with a consultant lies in selecting the right person to work with. Here’s what to look for to find a great consultant for your company: A Proven Track Record in the Right Industry First, choose someone with a proven track record in your target industry or market. Someone who consistently builds products or relationships in your chosen field can shave years off your sales cycle. This is due to the breadth of tools that an industry-specific consultant will bring to the table. The right industry consultant will have previously-established relationships that would otherwise take years to develop. This allows you to borrow the credibility that this individual has built over years or decades. As a result, you will...

In the digital age, data is the new oil. It is a source of wealth for any business, but this is especially true if it can be utilized properly through analytics. With more Internet of Things (IoT) devices in use than ever before, there’s never been a better time to look at your data, assess your performance, then make transformational changes to your business and your bottom line. Here’s how to drill into that data and achieve success with IoT in your industry: Data Alone Isn't Enough If Data is the new oil, then analytics is the refining process that produces your valuable end results: relevant information and actionable plans for improvement. Most IoT devices collect real-time data. This means that IoT devices will give you raw information about whether a door is open or closed, if a forklift is idle or in use, where an asset is located at a given time, and more. In the raw, this data can only be used for real-time adjustments. To truly put this information to use, you need to take a deep breath and dive into analytics to interpret that data and roll out the best solutions. Through the process of data mining—the practice of examining large amounts of information to generate new information—you can draw conclusions about your business practices in relation to various factors that impact your company. Once you do, you can make critical adjustments that will help your business pull far ahead of your competition. There are many reasons why analytics are essential for your company, but some of the most important are that it will allow you to: Understand past trends to predict future results Identify and quantify the ROI for any solution that you employ Determine and apply industry benchmarks for increased performance In these ways, analytics will prepare your business for better operability, prove which solutions should be implemented across your enterprise, and tell you how well you’re succeeding in comparison to other industry leaders. Understanding Past Trends to...

Growth won't just happen simply because it's a new year! If you’re like most technology companies, your projections for 2018 show a 15-20% increase over 2017. Predicting significant growth for the new year is a common practice for businesses, but is sometimes influenced by excess optimism coupled with a desire to assure investors of company progress. This is usually referred to as the hockey stick. This refers to the creation of a hockey stick shape on a graph, where growth has progressed slowly in the short term, but then suddenly rockets upward with impressive results. To keep your 2018 projections from becoming an empty promise, be aware that the calendar change gives many the false impression that growth simply happens over time. Instead, real growth requires changes in your company’s plan. As you’re coming up to the end of this year, look at the steps, strategies, and advice I’ve outlined below to help you achieve your projected growth in 2018. The Calendar Does Nothing for Your Business One of my most beloved mentors and a former CEOs of IDSY, Jeffrey Jagid, often reminded me that nothing is different about the following year except that the calendar has changed. Many people often take the change this time of year for granted, expecting some shift that affects the business. Don’t expect 20% growth simply because the calendar page turns. To truly achieve those increased projections, you’ll need to implement quantifiable changes. After all, repeating the same action again and again while expecting different results is never going to get you where you need to go. Specific changes are required to meet the commitments you’ve made to your financial backers. Approaches to Promote Growth: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up The best method to determine the necessary changes is to build a plan for 2018 using both a bottom-up and top-down approach. This allows you to truly account for the actions you must take to meet the expected growth. Top-down plans consist of looking at...